What is Cloud and What Types of Clouds Exist
Cloud computing is a model for delivering computing resources over the Internet. Instead of buying and maintaining your own servers, you rent resources in the cloud and use them on demand.
Main Types of Clouds
Public Cloud
- Provided by third-party providers (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
- You rent resources and pay only for what you use.
- Great for startups and scalable applications.
Private Cloud
- Dedicated resources for a single organization, either on-premise or hosted.
- High security and control.
- Suitable for financial companies and critical applications.
Hybrid Cloud
- Combines public and private clouds.
- Sensitive data can stay local, while extra load is handled in the public cloud.
Main Service Models
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) — rent VMs, networks, and storage.
- PaaS (Platform as a Service) — ready platform for app development and deployment.
- SaaS (Software as a Service) — ready-to-use applications accessed via the Internet (email, CRM, office apps).
Why Use Cloud
- Scalability: add resources as demand grows.
- Cost efficiency: no need to buy and maintain servers.
- Rapid deployment: infrastructure can be ready in minutes.
Conclusion
Cloud computing allows IT resources to be used more flexibly and efficiently. Understanding cloud types and service models helps developers and DevOps optimize costs and accelerate development and deployment processes.